Starting switch



Oct. 25, 1932.

s; CHAPMAN STARTING SWITCH Filed Oct. 30. 1929 INVENTOR.

I 1 Um/ 4 I a 6. 4' :4 avg civ erei'f ilafimazz 8 ATTORNEYS.

Patented a. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTE oFFicE EVERETT CHAPMAN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION 01 OHIO STARTING SWITCH Application filed October so, 1929. serial No. 408,805.

} of a predetermined time after the switch has been actuated. One of the objects of my invention is to provide a type of construction of the switch which shall have the desirable features of simplicity of construction, ease of assembly and relative low cost. Another ob- 9/ ject of my invention isto provide a novel means for actuating the switch, which shall have advantages hereinafter to be pointed out. ()ther objects of my invention willappear as the description proceeds.

'TO thB accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims; the

= annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle :tr 'of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of the device employin the principles of my invention; Fig. 2 is a ragmentary plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3'is an elevation pf the body of the switch shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional and part diagrammatic views of the switch bod shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is an elevation o the partition member.

Referring more specifically to the drawing and more especially to Figs. 1 and 2, the

arrangement of the various parts here shown consists of walls 1 and 2 which form part of the closure member for the switch mechanism,

which may be of any suitable material for the proper protection of the various working parts, as well as supporting elements for the "switch and its associated actuating shaft.

The shaft 3 by which the switch is actuated and which is connected tosuitable actuating vmeans, either manual, electrlcal, or otherwise (not shown), has its terminal portion 4 of substantial rectangular cross section, to which is rigidly secured the arm 5. The arm 5 has a resilient means 7 here shown in the form of aspring. The other terminus of the resilient means 7 is suitably connected at 8 to the arm 9 of the switch body 10. The switch body 10 is supported by means of gudgeons 11 and 12 which are journaled in supports13 and 14, respectively.

The main switch body 10, as more clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, will now be described. The switch body 10 is made up of two members 15 and 16, which, before the assembling operation occurs, are identical with respect to size and shape. .The member 16, forming one-half of the main switch body 10, has apertures 17 formed therein which are adapted to receive the screws 18, which project into and engage the member 15 at 19, thereby rigidly securing together the members 15 and 16. After the screws 18 have been inserted and the members 15 and 16 properly united thereb the apertures 17 may be filled by a suita le material, such as sealing wax, which etfects a substantial seal for these screws.

The members 15 and 16 have their-adjacent surfaces recessed to form the compartments 20 and 21, which are substantially separated from each other by means of the partition member 22 secured between the contiguous edges of the elements 15 and 16. The members 15 and 16 have transverse grooves 23 formed therein, which. grooves may be suitably reinforced by the surrounding material at 24 which extends into the compartments 20 and 21 and in no way interferes with the operation of this device. The members 15 and 16 also have formed transversely thereof ridges 25 which lie on the sides not containing the grooves 23. These ridges 25 serve as lateral supports for the base 26 of-the gudgeons 11 and 12, which are removably secured to the body 10 of the switch by means of the bolts27 extending longitudinall through the grooves 23 forme 15 and 16. The base 26 of the gudgeon 12 is provided with an extension 28, which has integrally united therewith the arm 9 by which the switch is actuated.

in the sides 0 the members As hereinbefore stated, the interior of the switch body is in the form of a closed compartment formed by the adjacent compartments 20 and 21 of the elements and 16. These compartments and 21 are substantially separated from each other by means of the partition member 22 which has a relatively large aperture 29 formed therein adsuitable conducting liquid 31, such as mer-.'

cury.

One of the members 15 or 16, for the purposes of illustration here shown to be member 15, has projecting through the walls thereof conducting means 32, 33, 34 and 35. The number of these conducting means may vary from the four here shown, depending upon the particular construction of the switch desired. These conducting means 32,33, 34 and 35 are adapted to removably secure screws 36 and 37, which removably secure the leads 38 and 39, respectively.

Y The operation of this device will now briefly be described. The type of construction selected for purposes of illustration is the type in which the electrical circuit is closed after the lapse of a predetermined time after .the switch has been actuated. The position of the switch in which the circuit is broken is shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and the position of the switch in which the circuit is 40 closed is shown in dotted outline in this figure. With the switch in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and as illustrated in Fi 4, the mercury contained in the closed cham er is entirely contained in the lower I chamber 21. When the switch body is in this position no means of communication is afforded between the conducting means 32 and 33 and, therefore, no current can pass through the circuit. When the switch is sought to be closed the shaft 3 is rotated in a cloc likewise carrying the terminal portion 6 of the arm 5 through the plane determined by the axis of rotation of the gudgeons on the switch body 10 and'the point 8 at which the resilient means 7 is connected to the switch body 10. As the point 6 passes through this plane, the resilient means 7 will causethe switch body to rotate in a clockwise direction until it strikes the stop 40,;which maintains the switch body in a substantially vertical position, asshown in Fig. 5. At the instant this vertical position is reached all the mercury will be on the left side of the partition I member 22, that is, in compartment 21,

tition 42, which is rigidly united by welding of the partition which is substantially paralwise direction which rotates the arm 5 'tition niember 22 below the lower edge of will then pass slowly through the small aperture 30 until the level of the mercury in chambers 20 and 21 is the same. The size of the aperture 30 will determine the time interval required for the mercury to successively contact with the'conducting means 32, 33, 34 and 35.

When the switch body 10 is quickly rotated. about the axis of the gudgeons 11 and 12 from the position illustrated in Fig. 4 to that illustrated in Fig. 5, the mercury in the lefthand portion of the compartment 21 will tend to remain stationary, due to centrifugal force, until the switch body reaches the position illustrated in Fig. 5, that is, when such rotation is abruptly halted by the switch body 10 striking the stop 40. -As the switch body 10 strikes the stop 40, the mercury which has been retained in the upper portion of the com- (or against the partition member 22. Some means must, therefore, be provided for preventing such mercury from passing through the aperture 29 in the partition 'member.22 and passing downwardly into the compartment 20 and thereby interfere with the time interval required for sufficient mercury to pass through the small aperture 30 to cause electrical contact between the conducting means projecting into the chamber 20. -To prevent such mercury from passing through the aperture 29 I provide an auxiliary par:

or otherwise to the partition 22 at 43 and has a terminal portion 44 projecting through such aperture 29 and extending into the corner compartment 20. The partition 42 has an aperture 45 formed therein in that portion lel to the partition member 22 and which is disposed below the lower edge of the aper- I ture 29. j p

With this partition member 42 in the position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 any mercury remaining in the upper portion of chamber 21, as illustrated in Fig. 5, when the switch bod 10 strikes the top 40, will be either pro ected through the aperture 29 into the auxiliary chamber 46, from which it will be returned to the chamber '20 by the partition 42, or any of such mercury which may pass through'the aperture 45 will strike the parthe aperture 29. and, therefore, will be restrained from passing over into the eompartment 20.

The aperture 45, of course, 1 inginthat portion of the partition 42 whic is substantially parallel to the; artition member 22, 125 will not permit any 0 the mercury to pass therethrough as it flows downwardly over the partition 42 from the auxiliary compartment 46 into the compartment 21. Such a eature.45,'how'ever, will permit the'return o the mercury from chamber 20 to chamber 21 as the switch body is brought back into the position illustrated in Fig. 4 'after having been first positioned as illustrated in Fig. 5, in

which substantially one-half of the mercurysesilient' means 7 therefore flprolongs the life of has passed chamber 20 through the small aperture 30;

A proper selectivity of the ela sed time interval y the tilting of the 'switc and the completion of the electrical circuit is afforded by connecting the lead 39 to either of the conducting means 33, 34 or-35, which conducting means being uniformly spaced ofie'r time delay intervals in the proper proportional parts to the full delay which is secured by attachin the lead 39 to the conducting means 35. It will be understood that the conducting means 32, 33, 34 and 35 may have similar conducting means ro'ecting into th compartment 20, which urt er conduct ng means, when arranged in staggered relation to the ones already present, will afford. a further selectivity of the desired timeinterval.

lVhen it is desired to break the-electrical circuit, the shaft 3, with its associated end 4,

A is rotated in a counter clockwise direction from the position it occupies when the bod 10 of the switch is in the vertical position, and then as soon as the point 6 again-passes through the plane determined bythe axis of the gudgeons 1-1 and 12 and the point 8, the switch will once more be brought to a sub; stantially horizontal position and held in thls position by the stop 41. It may be desirable to have this last-named position of the body 10 of the switch such that the partition member 22 is inclined slightly toward the aperture 29, thereby insurin that all of the mercury passesthrough sue aperture and into the lower chamber 21.

It will be understood that by arranging the conducting means roje'cting through the wall of the'sw'itch b0 i on the opposite side of the partitionmember22 the switch can be used to aflord a suitable time delay interval before the circuit is broken, instead of the arrangement here used for pur oses of illustration, which shows the time clay interval occurring before the circuit is closed.

The conductin means 32, 33, 34 and 35 project for a su stantialgdistance into the chamber 20, which arrangement insures making or breaking of the circuit with the meniscus of themer'cury rising or falling in the compartment containin these conducting means. By n-aking an breaking the contact'with the meniscus .of the mercury instead of the portion of the mercury adjacent the walls of the compartment revents excessive arcing and consequent y prevents I damage to the walls of the compartment if such arcing were permitted to occur.

The resilient means 7 which connects theactuatinglever arm 5 to the arm' 9 of the body 10 of the switch, absorbs all of the sharp movements of the actuating arm 5 to which it is necessarily subject, due to the positive action of the actuating means, whether it be manual,'electrical, or otherwise. This rethe mechanism and yet a ords positive action and effects the desired result instantaneously.

A further advantage of-the t pe of construction which I employ in orming the switch body 10 is that the elements 15 and 16, which are the mainmembersfrom which the switch body is formed, are identical and interchangeable, thereby effecting considerable saving in production costs as well as facilitatin the assemblin o ration. With the type 0% construction w ie I em loy it is not necessary to have a left and a rig t member which would cause confusion in assembling, but any two of the preformed members.

'15 or 16 may be combined to efiect the required structure. The arrangement of the gudgeons on. their respective bases and the means by which such bases are rigidlysecured to thebody of the switchdikewise presents points of novel simplicity which have heretofore never been-achieved.

A further description of my invention is deemed unnecessary for those acquainted with'the'art. Sufiice it to say that changes may be made in the contour and construction of the various elements comprising my invention without departing fromthe salient features thereof.

Other modes of a plying the principle of I my invention may e 'em loyed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

In a device of the character described, the combination of a pair of similarly shaped members in ju'xta osition, said members forming an enclose chamber; a conducting liquid in said chamber 5 a partition member disposed between said similarly shaped members and dividing said chamber;'a relatively large aperture in said partition near one end ofsaid chamber for readily transferrin said conducting liquidfrom one rtion 0 said chamber to the other; a relatively small-aperture in said partition near the other end of said chamber to ermit a restricted flow therethrough of sai conducting liquid; and means for preventin return flowof said liquid through'said device isrotated. lggggned by me this 28th day of October,

EVERETT CHAPMQON.

arge aperture as 'said 

